Planting the Seed
by Illusion of Insanity
Summary: Starting school is rough, even when you have your best friend by your side! Kotone isn't the happiest about this kindergarten idea, until she finds a boy who seems to be the most sour child she could ever find, without any friends to boot! If there's one thing that makes her sad, it's seeing a little boy be lonely. Rated K due to slightly rude words from Silver.


** A/N: Hey there~! I'm IllusionsOfInsanity and this is my first fan-fiction-but not the first one I've written, the first one I've posted. (I know, I know...I had to do a school AU?! They're overused, but this isn't high school...IT'S KINDERGARTEN! : D So I mixed it up a bit at least!) I just want to clarify a few things for this AU: The main kiddos (Kotone Soul, Hibiki Gold and Silver) are age six-because age five is too young in my opinion-while Silver is age seven-he stayed home a year because of his mother's death at age five. Proton is in fourth grade-meaning around age eleven and is living with Silver and his father. Giovanni is still the leader of Team Rocket, and Proton is training to be a Rocket. This is mainly based on the games for the characters, so Hibiki has Ethan's personality. That's all I have to add for this, so please read and enjoy this story~!**

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I pulled down my new red dress with little white flowers on it with one hand while I firmly gripped my mother's own hand with the other. I had no _idea_ what she was thinking, taking me to this giant building and expecting me to go inside, _alone_ and _stay there_ for _seven_ whole hours! Oh, and did I mention that I was there would be no more naps?!

"No! I don't wanna go, Mommy!" I grabbed my mother's leg and bawled, hoping she would let us go home.

"Now Koto, it's time to be a big girl now. You'll have lots of fun at kindergarten, I promise." She lowered herself to give me a hug as she went on. "Besides, Hibiki will be there with you! You'll meet lots of new kids just your age! Isn't that going to be fun?"

I shook my head roughly and pouted. _I don't care if Iki's here! I wanna go home!_ "No! I wanna go home!"

"Oh, Ms. Soul!" I slowly turned my attention to the tall woman who lived next door, along with the young black-haired boy I always play with. "There you two are! Hibi and I were waiting for you by the door but I guess you couldn't see us from here..." My mother pulled away and started talking excitedly to the lady, while the boy came out from behind his own mother.

"Koto! Koto!" He jumped out from behind her legs and raced over to my side. "Hey, are you crying?"

"Iki! I don't wanna go! Momma said I have to...I don't wanna!" I clung to my best friend as I cried harder, knowing he would agree with me.

"...Actu-ally..." I looked up to see him smiling at me. "I'm really excited for this! We're big kids now, Koto! C'mon, let's go see!" He pulled me by my right arm as I sniffled, not wanting to follow but also afraid of him going without me.

We reached the door to find a man talking to a grandpa, both in talking eagerly just as our mothers had been. I caught parts of what they were saying as I stared at a blue-haired girl with pigtails in a white dress who had to be my age-but was of course, taller than me.

"I'm sure my daughter will do just fine in First Grade, she's brilliant! A genius like her needs to be challenged, age difference or not! I insist that she be placed in the next grade!" The brown-haired man waved his hands as he talked, just like the strange man who lived in the house with big windows. I kept staring at the girl's strange hair.

"Iki..." I finally whispered. "That girl has blue hair..."

"So?" I glanced to see him look at me with a funny face. "What's wrong?"

"...Her hair is _blue_, Iki. _Blue_ hair!" I pulled my captive hand as I tried to tell my friend that blue is the color of the sky, a river and the ocean...but not your hair.

"Momma told me lots of people have blue hair! There's this lady who lives in a town filled with dragons! And _she_ has blue hair!" He gave me an excited smile as I frowned. _A town filled with dragons...? That sounds scary! ...I wonder if there's a princess there..._

Just then, a huge black car drove up to the front door! It seemed to stretch forever until the end of the car stopped right behind us. I pulled Iki away from the scary car, afraid that there might be a dragon inside to gobble us up. I watched as another grandpa climbed out of the front of the car, walked over to the last door and opened it. I watched in awe as the grandpa started to speak. "Come along, then. We've arrived, Master."

I blinked as a gruff voice came from inside the car. "Go on then, boys. The car will be here promptly when you are released from class. Off you go."

An older boy with hair the color of the green part of the sea slid out first, I saw his smiling face through the open window of the door.

"Iki..." I turned back to my friend to find him staring at me, his eyes wide. "That grandpa opens doors, Iki... Is that his job?"

"...Do you think he even opens the bathroom door?" Iki spoke slowly, as if he was too busy staring at the strange grandpa who opens doors for you.

The older boy laughed as he put his hands on his hips and bent over towards the open door. "Hey, what's the matter?" His voice sounded mean as he kept talking. "Aren't cha' gonna come out?"

I heard a small grunt from inside the car. The boy smiled wider as he laughed harder. "What's the matter? You scared~?"

I heard the grunt again and saw a little tuft of red just like a Psyduck's tail slip out next to the mean boy. "I'm not scared!" The voice sounded like he was mad, I gripped Iki's hand tighter. "I'm not scared of nothin'!"

The grandpa walked over to behind the Psyduck tail and started talking. "Come along now, boys. Classes shall start soon. You wouldn't want to be late, now." The tail huffed as the older boy started walking out from behind the door. He was wearing a black suit, just like the office people Momma watched on the T.V. He was followed by a boy with red hair that covered his ears with little tufts of hair sticking out to the sides, the Psyduck tail on the top of his head. He wore a suit just like the other boy, only he had a frown instead of a smile.

"That kid looks funny." Iki cocked his head as the two kids walked right to the door and waited for the grandpa and the man to stop talking.

"He looks...mad. Why is he mad?" _Maybe he doesn't want to go to school either. _I felt a smile as I thought I might not be the only kid who didn't want to go inside the scary building.

I watched as the weird-haired girl moved closer to the man, a small frown on her face as the odd-haired boy walked over to her. The older boy smiled wider as he pushed the red-haired boy, the Psyduck tail bowing over as he bent backwards.

"Cut it out!" The boy shoved back and made the bigger kid bump into the man talking. He stopped and made a mean face at the boy before moving away from the door with a pout. The little girl clung to the man's leg as the older kid walked right inside of the doors without a word. The other boy looked around for a bit until he saw us. He frowned and made his eyes get smaller as I tried to give him a smile. He then followed the other boy with stomping feet.

"...He seems mean." Iki nodded his head as he watched the boy leave. "I don't think I like him."

I watched the Psyduck tail bow up and down as he walked away, unable to look away from the strange piece of hair on his head.

"There you two are!" We turned around to see our mothers running towards us looking pretty scared. "Don't scare me like that, Koto!" She got down on her knees and hugged me, making me let go of Iki's hand. Iki's mother hugged him too as he stood there with his face growing red.

"Come on, Hibi. Class will start soon and I want to meet your teacher!" She grabbed the hand I was holding and led him inside. My mother stood up and grabbed my hand, watching Iki and his mother walk away from us. I looked up to my Momma's face and smiled as she squeezed my hand.

"Do I really have to go, Momma?" I pouted as she nodded and gave up trying to go home.

"Come along, Koto. It's time to meet your teacher."

I stood staring inside of the small room as my mother talked to another lady with black hair. The blue-walled room had a whole wall of little squares that you could put your stuff in, round tables shaped like Pokémon to sit at and lots of different toys to play with. I watched as a group of kids ran past me. _There's so many kids! _I blinked as I tried to count them...but I could only remember how to count to six, which was how old I was. I frowned. _I wish I could count like Momma. Only...not when I'm in trouble._ I looked around for a while before I finally saw Iki sitting on a rug shaped like a Marill. I ran over to him as he smiled at me.

"Look at all these kids!" I laughed as he fell back on the rug with his arms stretched out wide. "I've never seen so many!" _Back home, there's only Iki and me...but here there's so many!_

"Yeah...it's kinda scary..." I jumped as a boy with yellow hair bumped into me as he ran past. "They run a lot, Iki." He laughed and nodded as he lay on the Marill's belly.

"Hey, look." He suddenly stood up and pointed to the door. I turned around to see the red Psyduck tail poke inside of the room, then quickly run back out. I giggled as it did it again. "It's that mean kid again. He acts funny."

I sat down next to Iki and pulled on my dress as the Psyduck tail kept running away and coming back again and again. Then I heard the older boy's laugh again. I got up and slowly walked towards the door wondering if the bigger boy would come in too.

"Go on, get in there! Your daddy's gonna be mad at you if you run away like a scardy-Meowth!" I looked out into the hallway to see him standing in front of the red-haired boy and smiling. The Psyduck tail shook back and forth as the boy shook his head.

"I'm _not_ a scardy-Meowth! I told you, I'm not scared of _anything_!" He lifted his head as he yelled, making my mother turn around and stare at the boy.

"Prove it! I bet you can't last one _day_ in kindergarten!" The older boy crossed his arms as the other boy shook.

"Can too, Proton! I'll show you! I'm not scared of anything!" He spun around and started to walk towards me. Scared, I ran back to Iki's side as he tilted his head at me.

"What happened, Koto? Are you O.K?" I gave Iki a quick nod and turned back towards the door to see if the other boy would walk inside. After a while, the Psyduck tail slowly came back in the room. This time, the boy followed the tuft of hair. He stared around the room before his eyes fell on Iki and me again. He scowled-I think that's what Momma called it-and walked towards a table shaped like a Voltorb and sat down.

"That boy acts so strange!" Iki grabbed my right hand and frowned at the boy who now sat alone at the table. "He acts like he's mad at us when we don't even know him."

I slowly gave Iki a nod before turning back towards the boy to find him staring at the door. _...He is kinda weird._ "Why doesn't he come and sit with us?"

"I don't _want_ him to sit with us! He might push you like he did that other kid!" Iki's voice sounded really worried by the thought of this boy with red hair pushing me down.

"...Proton." I turned to find Iki staring at me with a confused look on his face, holding his head like a Psyduck. "I heard that boy called the older kid that in the hall...it must be the older kid's name."

Iki kept staring for a while before he shrugged. "And that's one _weird_ name! Those kids are so weird!"

I opened my mouth to speak when the tall lady with black hair suddenly walked into the room. "Alright little ones~! It's time to sit down at a table!" Iki slowly stood up and helped me up before we walked over to the tables. We stared as kids ran for a seat. Iki sat down at a table shaped like a Pikachu and pulled out a chair for me. I looked slowly over to the other boy. He was sitting alone at the Voltorb table, his eyes hidden in his hair. I suddenly had an idea.

"Iki...let's go sit at the Voltorb table." He slowly looked around and found the table, then shook his head roughly.

"No way! I'm not sitting next to that kid! He might bite me!" He pushed his chair in closer to the table as I frowned.

"Well," I put my hands on my hips as I pouted. "_I'm_ going to sit at the Voltorb table!" I started to walk over towards the table only to be pulled by my right arm. I turned my head to see Iki holding me back with a frown.

"...Fine! I'll sit at the table with the weird kid! Just don't cry to me when he bites us!" I laughed as I grabbed his hand and skipped over to the table as the red-haired boy frowned at us.

I stopped behind the chair to his right and smiled at him. "Hi!" He made a bigger frown as he looked up at me.

"...Go away!" He hissed as I quickly checked the table Iki had chosen for us. Sure enough, the seats were all taken except for these two next to him. I turned back to the boy as Iki shivered.

"Are these seats taken?" I started to pull out the chair, only for him to grab it from me.

"Yes! They're all taken! Go sit somewhere else!" He narrowed his eyes as he scowled again.

"Y-you heard him, Koto!" Iki sputtered as he tugged on my left hand. "They're taken! We have to sit somewhere else..."

"But you're not sitting in those two. And there's no where else to sit." I cocked my head as his lip shook, his eyes darting from the chairs and back to me.

"Come on, little ones!" I turned to see the lady staring at us with a slight frown. "Go ahead and sit down."

"See?" I turned back towards the boy and pulled out the chair again only this time, he didn't try to take it from me. "We'll sit by you~!"

Iki slowly walked over and pulled out the other chair with a scared look on his face as the boy watched us sit down. He frowned as we both moved closer to the table before staring straight at the teacher.

"Now that everyone's sitting at a table, I want you to remember who you're sitting by! You'll be buddies for quite a while before we switch tables again!" The boy let out a long groan as he slammed his head against the table. I blinked at him as Iki leaped back in his chair. _...I hope this is a good idea._ "Now, I'm going to ask each of you to come up and tell the rest of the class your name and something about yourself! This way, we can all learn about each other! Now, let's see...Ah! Totodile table will go first, and we'll head towards the back of the room. I looked to see that the Voltorb table was the last table and frowned. _It'll be awhile before our turn. I don't like waiting..._

"Hey," I turned to the boy as he lifted his head slightly from the table. "I'm Ko-to-ne! What's your name?" He sat up straight and stared at me for a while before looking away.

"That's none of your busi-ness! Leave me alone!" I frowned as I scooted closer. He stared at me before scooting towards Iki, only to realize he was now closer to him. He growled and slowly moved back in between us.

I looked over at Iki and nodded. He swallowed hard before turning towards the boy with a not-so-happy smile. "I-I'm Hi-Hibiki. Can't you tell us your name?"

The boy frowned for a while before looking up at the ceiling. "Hibiki's a girly name!"

"H-Hey! It is _not_!" Iki glared at the boy as he let out a huff. "My name's just fine!"

I laughed as Iki tired to defend his name from the red head's insult. _You're always so defen-sive of your name, Iki! It's so funny!_

"Voltorb table, you're up!" I looked up to see the teacher grinning at us and I smiled back.

"I'll go first!" I happily leaped out of my seat and skipped up to the front of the class. When I got up there though, I wished I was back in my seat. There were so many kids staring at me! I gulped as I looked back at Iki. He was giving me that small smile that meant, 'Go for it!'. I smiled back and stared at the grumpy boy, imagining I was telling him about me.

"I-I'm Koto-ne Soul, and I really like Pokémon! I hope I can have my own someday!" The boy rolled his eyes at me as the other kids clapped. I gave a big smile and skipped back to my seat. _That wasn't so bad!_ "Iki, your turn!"

Iki slowly pushed his seat back and walked up to the front of the room with shaking hands. He looked straight at me as he spoke, "I-I'm Hibiki Gold, and I also really like Pokémon! When I get big," His eyes sparkled as he finished, "I'm going to be a Pokémon Trainer!" I heard the boy next to me grunt as he shifted in his seat. The class clapped as Iki proudly marched back to his seat feeling brave once again. "That was actually kind of fun!"

"...Alright, it's your turn, little one!" The teacher smiled at the boy next to me as he frowned. He sighed as he slowly got up and walked to the front with his hands in his pockets. He stood there, just staring at us all with narrowed eyes. "...Go on. Tell us your name~." He shook his head as he turned away from us. "It's O.K... Don't be shy~!" This seemed to make him mad.

"I'm _not_ shy!" He huffed as he stomped his left foot. I giggled as he brushed himself off before he started talking. "I...I-m Silver and..." His voice grew quiet as he frowned. _Silver? ...That sounds kinda like Iki's last name... That's a cool name!_

"And...?" The teacher made a circle with her hands.

"And...and..." He looked straight at us and scowled. "And I _hate_ school!"

The kids laughed as his face turned red. The teacher frowned and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you don't mean that, Silver."

"I do!" I frowned as he went on. "I hate school and I hate teachers and I _really_ hate kids! They're annoying!" I gasped as he said hate..._three_ times! Iki stared in shock.

"Silver!" The teacher seemed mad now. Silver just crossed his arms and looked away. "Apologize for your behavior, young man!"

"No! I don't have ta' say nothin'!" He stomped his foot as the teacher grabbed his arm.

"Come on, young man! You'll be sitting in time out." She started to pull him to a corner as Silver let his feet drag over all of the little rugs.

"What's time out?!" He looked up at her, his face still very angry.

"Time out," She explained, looking rather upset. "Is where you go when you've been a bad boy. You'll sit in the corner and think about what you did wrong until you are sorry for it!" I pouted as Iki frowned. _That sounds terrible! I would never want to sit in a corner!_ I felt like I was going to cry at the _thought_ of having to sit all alone in a dark corner. _Poor Silver! He must be so scared!_

The teacher reached the corner and pointed to the floor. "Sit down, Silver." He shook his head and turned away. "Silver...you _have_ to sit in the corner. Sit down." He slowly looked at her before shaking his head rougher than last time. She then grabbed his right arm and _forced_ him to sit down. He crossed his arms and glared at her. "You have to face the wall, Silver. I'm going to have to call your parents about this as well." At the mention of his parents, Silver flinched and turned quickly towards the dark corner. The teacher then walked to her desk and started looking through a stack of papers. She smiled as she pulled out a gold piece of paper but then frowned. "Silver, you don't have a phone number listed on your reference sheet... I need to know your father's phone number."

"I don't know it!" I frowned as he scooted closer to the wall. "He never told me." He added this last part quieter; maybe only me and Iki heard it.

"Ah," I turned to see the teacher smile as she spoke. "It says here that I can talk to your big brother if you have any problems! I'll call Mr. Darrell and tell him to send..." She stopped for a moment as she raised an eyebrow. "Proton over..." _Proton's his big brother? ...They don't look like brothers...or act like them._

Silver jumped in his spot as he spun his head towards the teacher lady, who was now holding the phone connected to the wall. "He's _not_ my brother! He's...he's..." He sighed and turned back towards the wall. "It's compli-cated..."

After a while, while the rest of us were drawing pictures of our house, Proton slowly walked into the room and smirked as he saw Silver-who was hugging his knees and staring at the wall. He stood next to Silver as he shrugged. "Into trouble already, Silver? It's only been an hour since we got here! Tut tut! Daddy's gonna be mad at you~!" I frowned as Silver hugged his knees tighter when the older boy mentioned his father.

"...Knock it off, Proton." He tried to sound mean...but it came out sad instead.

Proton smiled as he placed his right hand on Silver's shoulder and bent over to whisper. I leaned back in my chair to listen. "Bet you wish your Momma was here, don't cha'? She would've made you stay home~!" I let my mouth fall open as Silver snarled like a mad Pokémon at Proton's words.

"Don't you _dare_," He was almost snarling at the older boy as he smirked. "Talk about my mother!"

"Oh, you're here!" Both boys were startled when the teacher walked over with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry to interrupt your own lessons for Silver's behavior..." She frowned at Silver while Proton simply nodded with a serious face.

"I was actually just starting math..." He looked off to the door and pouted as the teacher sighed.

"I'm so sorry about that, but it seems Silver doesn't have his father's number listed..."

The greenish blue-haired boy smiled and lifted a hand up. "Don't be. I hate math! I really only like science!" They both laughed as I cocked my head. _...Was that a joke?_ Iki turned to watch, interrupted from coloring in the river behind our houses.

"Well, I'm glad he has a big brother I can count on to tell his father about this. I usually would just send a note but..." Her voice grew quiet as she continued, "I have a feeling Silver would just rip it up."

"Actually..." Proton gave an unhappy smile as he scratched his neck. "I'm not his brother...It's pretty complicated." The teacher frowned and gave a short nod.

"If you'll just follow me, I'll explain what happened." She then lead Proton off towards her desk, leaving Silver alone in the corner.

_Poor Silver..._ I frowned as he gripped his knees tightly and sighed. _He seems so sad..._ I then had another idea and smiled. I slowly rose from my chair, only to have Iki hiss at me.

"Where are you going?! Sit down!" His face looked worried as I kept on walking towards the dark corner where Silver pouted.

I stopped behind him and kneeled over, touching his shoulder gently. He jumped as he whipped his face towards me with a scowl. "Did you just..._touch_ me?!" I nodded with a smile as his face fell as he stared at the spot I touched. "Yuck! _Girl_ cooties!" He started shaking his arm madly as I giggled at his grossed-out face.

"You're silly!" I smiled widely as he glared at me. "...Um..." I let my smile fade as I cocked my head. "Are you O.K?"

"No! Now I've got girl cooties on me! How am I O.K?!" He snarled at me as I leaned back. _That's one sharp tooth... _I stared at the sharp tooth in the corner of his mouth with awe. _I wonder if it hurts to smile?_ _Maybe that's why he won't smile, because the tooth would poke him!_

"No." I shook my head as I slowly leaned forward. "I mean...being back here alone." He looked confused as I went on, "Aren't you lonely?"

He stared at me for a while before looking down at his shiny black shoes. "Only babies get lonely...I'm not lonely." He slowly shook his head as he frowned. "Not one bit!"

I gave a small smile as I scooted closer. Silver leaned away from me slowly. "Nuh uh. I get lonely sometimes when Iki can't play with me. Momma told me she gets lonely sometimes...Everybody gets lonely sometimes." I reached for his hand as he flinched. His hand felt cold as I gave it a squeeze. "It's O.K... You can tell me."

He looked at me, then his hand before looking back up at me. "I'm fine...Go...Go away..." He looked down at our hands with a confused look.

"No." I slowly shook my head and smiled. "I'm not leaving until you talk to me!" He gave a snort and looked back at my face. I noticed that his eyes looked like the little coins Momma had in her purse, only far shinier.

"I _am_ talking to you. So, go back to the table!" He pouted as I giggled.

"Do you have any friends?" His eyes got really round as he stared at me for a moment before he slowly shook his head.

"...No. I don't need friends anyway...They're for babies." I gasped as I couldn't believe what he was saying. I shook my head roughly and squeezed his hand tighter, making him grimace-I think Momma said that was a grimace, anyway.

"That's not true! Everyone needs friends! I don't know what I'd do without Iki! He's my best friend!" I turned and pointed towards Iki. He was staring at us with a worried look on his face. I gave him a quick wave which he quickly gave back.

"So what?" I turned back towards Silver to see him trying to free his hand. "I don't need them."

I pouted as I tried to think of a way to explain to this...this...stubborn boy how important friends were. "Friends are very special," I began with a serious voice, which made him focus on me. "They're always there for you when you're scared, you're lonely or just when you want someone to play with you! They share their toys, their blankets," I smiled as he cocked his head. "They even share _cookies_ with you!" His mouth dropped open as I felt proud of my explanation of friendship.

He thought for a while before pouting, "...No one's ever shared a cookie with me before...only their _cooties_." He stuck out his tounge as he shook his head at the mention of cooties. _What are cooties, anyway? Whatever they are...he certainly doesn't like them!_

"I'll share a cookie with you, Silver! And I'm sure Iki will too!" I laughed as he sighed. I quickly gave him a hug, making him jolt. I nuzzled closer as I whispered, "We'll be your friends, Silver. That way, you can know what friends are..." I held tightly for a few moments before letting go and smiling at him. His face was really red as he looked away.

"...You know," He looked down at the floor and gave a tiny smile. "You're a _really_ weird girl." I laughed as I stood up and gave a big smile.

"...And you're kinda weird too, Silver. So I guess we're both weird~!"

He looked up at me with only a bit of pink left on his cheeks. "All. That Hibiki kid's weird too. You're all weird."

I held up a finger as I corrected him like the teacher lady, with an important tone. "All. Iki, you _and _me. We're all weird. But that's O.K because we're friends! And sometimes, friends act a little funny." He slowly smiled as I pulled him up from the ground.

"C'mon!" I held out my hand and smiled. "We're drawing pictures of what our house looks like! I'll share my crayons with you~!"

He stared at my hand for a moment with a serious face before smiling and taking my hand. "...Thanks...Ko-Kotone."

I smiled as I lead him back to the table, happy that my Momma had been right after all. _School isn't so bad... I did meet a new friend today... And I have a feeling that we'll be friends for a long while~!_


End file.
